KHODORKOVSKIY'S WARDEN FILES PAROLE REPORT;

C O N F I D E N T I A L MOSCOW 002241 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/01/2018 TAGS: PGOV KJUS PHUM PINR RS SUBJECT: KHODORKOVSKIY'S WARDEN FILES PAROLE REPORT; HEARING ON EARLY RELEASE EXPECTED BY MID-AUGUST REF: MOSCOW 2041 Classified By: Acting DCM Alice G. Wells; reason 1.4 (d) ¶1. (C) Summary: The warden of the prison in which former YUKOS Oil Company head Mikhail Khodorkovskiy is being held submitted to the local court in Chita the parole report required as part of Khodorkovskiy's July 23 request for early release (reftel). His St. Petersburg-based lawyer Yuriy Shmidt told us that he expects an announcement by the court August 4 concerning a hearing date, and that the hearing will occur before the middle of August. Khodorkovskiy's lawyers characterized the statement as "neutral" but noted that it does contain one instance of a violation of prison rules. A local prison official said that in order to be eligible for early release, Khodorkovskiy would need to have worked well, behaved himself, not broken any prison rules and "paid back" the state and society for the damages caused by his crimes. Most of our contacts downplay the possibility of an early release. End Summary. ¶2. (C) The warden of the federal prison near the Siberian city of Chita in which ex-YUKOS boss Mikhail Khodorkovskiy is serving his eight-year prison term has submitted his parole report to the local court deciding upon Khodorkovskiy's July 23 request for early release. Khodorkovskiy's lawyer Yuriy Shmidt told us there were several boxes of supporting documents accompanying the statement. Shmidt said that attorneys who have reviewed the report told him that while it is neutral in tone, it does contain one instance in which Khodorkovskiy is claimed to have violated prison rules. ¶3. (C) Shmidt said that prison officials are opposed to Khodorkovskiy's early release. Yunis Amayev, the head of the Russian Federal Penal System for the Chita region, told reporters that in order to be eligible for early release, Khodorkovskiy would need to have worked well, behaved himself, not broken any prison rules and "paid back" the state and society for the damages caused by his crimes. Both Amayev and Shmidt said that the warden's report is not dispositive of Khodorkovskiy's request and that Ingodinskiy District Court Judge Igor Falileyev will have the final say in the matter. ¶4. (SBU) Shmidt told us that he expects the court will announce a date for the parole hearing on August 4, and that the actual hearing will be held before the middle of August. According to Russian law, as a general rule, all sides in a criminal proceeding must be given five days advance notice of the date, time and place of any court hearing. While most court hearings are open to the public, the court could close the parole hearing if it rules that the procedures could lead to a disclosure of state secrets or personal harm to the participants in the hearing or their relatives or friends. While not specifically spelled out under Russian criminal procedure, as a general rule the prisoner is allowed to argue in favor of the parole and use a lawyer to represent his interests. The contents of the prison warden's report cannot be appealed, but the decision of the presiding judge can be appealed. Comment -------------- ¶5. (C) Legal niceties aside, we do not expect that Judge Falileyev will make his ultimate decision on Khodorkovskiy's request for early release based solely on the contents of the warden's statement on his activities in prison or the persuasiveness of the arguments at the parole hearing. While some human rights activists posit Khodorkovskiy's release as a litmus test for Medvedev, most of our contacts believe the imprisoned oligarch's political ambitions, native talents, and potential for revenge continue to make him politically toxic to a risk-averse Kremlin. RUBIN